A comfortable win against the Vikings in the Wildcard Round has lead us to Candlestick Park in what will undoubtedly be a harder/more competitive game against the San Francisco 49ers. They have home field advantage and a weeks rest, we have the momentum.

I think this game comes down to keeping A-Rod upright. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith will be doing their thing, but if we want to win we need to contain them. If we can protect Rodgers with 4 receivers on the field we'll be able to create mis-matches all across the field and move the ball well. On defense i'd like to see us go to more 3 Dlinemen sets. Like the Vikings, the 49ers will be focused on their run game and stopping it will be key.

Tramon and Woodson feast on young QB's. Very good at baiting them. Will likely need one of them to pick off a pass

Can't let the Niners run the ball effectively and will need to contain Kaep and his running ability. He's been a bit inconsistent and GB's secondary(the CB's mainly) is good

comes down to the Pack front 7. Clay will be his usual beast self, but they'll need Walden to have another big game like he had last night(that was huge). Need to pressure Kaep. Vernon Davis is the guy that always worries me since this team cannot cover TE's worth a lick

Pack OL will pretty much have to play the game of their life and I would hope to see more quick passes/screens/dumpoffs utilized to slow their rush down a bit. They just don't stack up well up front vs them, so they need to gameplan around that. Roll Rodgers out, etc. Harris, Starks(if he plays), Grant, Green....whoever the hell runs the ball, doesn't matter, they need to at least be somewhat effective. 80+ rush yards with some key catches from the RB group will likely be needed

Lets hope the trend continues of the Packers beating the Niners in the playoffs

Who is flying me to Cisco and buying my tickets? I'm 3-0 when in attendance of Packet games so if I go sure bet we win!

I'd chip in, but I'm already doing my share by betting on the opponents & jinxing them, as I did for the final 6 games of the 2010 season.... I lost a ton of $ betting on our opponents, heartbreak insurance.

both teams are very different now, as is usually the case from Week 1 - Week 19.

Some things of note

* Jarrett Bush was the starter in this game. Shields and especially Hayward saw very little time. Bush has barely sniffed the field(on D) since this game and obviously Hayward has emerged as a very good slot DB

* Walden and Neal were both serving suspensions and didn't play. Lots of Philip Merling in this game, who was cut months ago

* Benson did little to nothing in this game. Pack can't have that this weekend from Harris and Co.

* Loss of Bulaga to an already weak OL that was outmatched in that game. Hopefully things have stabilized a bit with the line, but Newhouse/Barclay have their work cut out for them

* Manningham is out for the year. That guy always seemed to give the Packers fits

* No Kaep in this game other than the designed run play where he got an easy 20+ yards up the middle.

in the end, it's fun to look back at, but you can't properly gauge things from this performance for either team. It was so long ago and things are much different, especially in SF's case since they had a QB change. One thing is for sure, the Pack didn't look like they were ready to match the Niners physicality in that Week 1 match-up. That must change if they are to win.

* Benson did little to nothing in this game. Pack can't have that this weekend from Harris and Co.

* Loss of Bulaga to an already weak OL that was outmatched in that game. Hopefully things have stabilized a bit with the line, but Newhouse/Barclay have their work cut out for them

* Manningham is out for the year. That guy always seemed to give the Packers fits

* No Kaep in this game other than the designed run play where he got an easy 20+ yards up the middle.

I can't believe that video is still up there, especially with the title so easy to find searching.

Walden and Neal have to contain and hammer Kaepernick.
I looked closely at the Niners 4 losses, and tie, and they key in all those games (one of the keys) was that the Niners didn't sack the QB in those games. A couple of goose-eggs, and a 1 sack game.
Can we ever have a game where Rodgers is sacked zero times?
If he doesn't get sacked Saturday (and plays the whole game), I think we'll light em up like we did to Atlanta 2 years ago in this round.

Good call on Super Mario, that guy always got us... just like Nicks and Cruz did.
But so does Vernon Davis.

I had forgotten how slow the pace of the game was with the replacement refs. With a good playoff crew Rodgers should be able to run the no-huddle as much as he wants, and that could give us an advantage if he finds the 49ers in a favorable defense.

I'm ready! Can't wait!!!!! I do like our time slot the best, Saturday at night so we can all celebrate a Packers victory the right way!! We better win otherwise it just makes Sundays games slightly less enjoyable.

Cobb was out today with the flu - seems somebody has it on the team every damn week now(maybe they can use it to affect opponents. More coughing/sneezing on them in pile-ups should do it)
Jordy was out again but MM said he expects him to practice tomorrow
Boykin was out today after practicing yesterday. Probably a planned thing
McMillian was out again today but will be back tomorrow. He missed time with a "personal matter"

Green Bay, WI – Wide receivers Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson did not participate in Wednesday's practice as the Green Bay Packers prepared for this weekend's NFC Divisional Playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said that Cobb, Green Bay's leading receiver during the regular season, remained at home Wednesday because of illness and not injury. The second-year standout had missed the team's Week 17 finale with an ankle/knee issue, but returned to action for the Packers' 24-10 win over rival Minnesota in last Saturday's Wild Card round.

Nelson's status is less certain after he hurt his ankle during last weekend's victory, though McCarthy was hopeful he would be able to practice on Thursday.

Rookie safety Jerron McMillian also was not on the field Wednesday due to a personal matter, but is expected to rejoin the team on Thursday.

Outside linebackers Clay Matthews (knee) and Dezman Moses (hamstring) were listed as limited in Wednesday's session, while defensive end Jerel Worthy will miss Saturday's matchup with a knee injury he sustained in the regular- season finale.

Running back James Starks, out since early December due to a knee sprain, was a full participant.